St. Anthony Community Hospital, a member of the Westchester Medical Center Health Network, has announced it will now offer a new procedure known as a gentle C-section, or family-centered section, to mothers across the region.

This gentle C-section mimics many of the essential components of natural childbirth by allowing parents to watch their infant enter the world through a clear drape and encourages skin-to-skin bonding with the newborn while still in the operating room.

This new process is designed to connect mothers to birth more closely than traditional C-sections allow.

“A lot of mothers are disappointed if they are told they require a C-section," said Diane DeFreest, RN, maternity director at St. Anthony Community Hospital. “They might feel as if they had missed out on a vital moment in their pregnancy experience by requiring a C-section. We are aiming to make this procedure feel more like a birth and less like a surgery.”

St. Anthony Community Hospital is the only hospital in both Orange and Rockland counties to offer gentle C-sections to patients.

To find out more information about the Kennedy Birthing Center,
click here.

St. Anthony Community Hospital and Bon Secours Community Hospital are members of WMCHealth.